Author Archives: stpeterwebmaster

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,your gold and silver have corroded,and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;it will devour your flesh like a fire.You have stored up treasure for the last days.Behold, the wages you withheld from the workerswho harvested your fields are crying aloud;and the cries of the harvestershave reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.You have condemned;you have murdered the righteous one;he offers you no resistance.

R. (Matthew 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!This is the way of those whose trust is folly,the end of those contented with their lot:Like sheep they are herded into the nether world;death is their shepherd and the upright rule over them.R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!Quickly their form is consumed;the nether world is their palace.But God will redeem mefrom the power of the nether world by receiving me.R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!Fear not when a man grows rich,when the wealth of his house becomes great,For when he dies, he shall take none of it;his wealth shall not follow him down.R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!Though in his lifetime he counted himself blessed,“They will praise you for doing well for yourself,”He shall join the circle of his forebearswho shall never more see light.R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

Jesus said to his disciples:“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drinkbecause you belong to Christ,amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstonewere put around his neckand he were thrown into the sea.If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna,into the unquenchable fire.And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eyethan with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

“Everyone will be salted with fire.Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,with what will you restore its flavor?Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”

Beloved:Come now, you who say,“Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town,spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”–you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.Instead you should say,“If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.”But now you are boasting in your arrogance.All such boasting is evil.So for one who knows the right thing to doand does not do it, it is a sin.

R. (Matthew 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!Hear this, all you peoples;hearken, all who dwell in the world,Of lowly birth or high degree,rich and poor alike.R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!Why should I fear in evil dayswhen my wicked ensnarers ring me round?They trust in their wealth;the abundance of their riches is their boast.R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!Yet in no way can a man redeem himself,or pay his own ransom to God;Too high is the price to redeem one’s life; he would never have enoughto remain alive always and not see destruction.R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!For he can see that wise men die,and likewise the senseless and the stupid pass away,leaving to others their wealth.R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

John said to Jesus,“Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my namewho can at the same time speak ill of me.For whoever is not against us is for us.”

Beloved:Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?You covet but do not possess.You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;you fight and wage war.You do not possess because you do not ask.You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly,to spend it on your passions.Adulterers!Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says,The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy? But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:God resists the proud,but gives grace to the humble.

So submit yourselves to God.Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.Cleanse your hands, you sinners,and purify your hearts, you of two minds.Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep.Let your laughter be turned into mourningand your joy into dejection.Humble yourselves before the Lordand he will exalt you.

R. (23a) Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.And I say, “Had I but wings like a dove,I would fly away and be at rest.Far away I would flee;I would lodge in the wilderness.”R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.“I would wait for him who saves mefrom the violent storm and the tempest.”Engulf them, O Lord; divide their counsels. R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.In the city I see violence and strife,day and night they prowl about upon its walls. R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.Cast your care upon the LORD,and he will support you;never will he permit the just man to be disturbed. R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them,“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him,and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying,and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,he began to ask them,“What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent.For they had been discussing among themselves on the waywho was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them,“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;and whoever receives me,receives not me but the One who sent me.”

After Adam had eaten of the tree,the LORD God called to him and asked him, “Where are you?”He answered, “I heard you in the garden;but I was afraid, because I was naked,so I hid myself.”Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?You have eaten, then,from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”The LORD God then asked the woman,“Why did you do such a thing?”The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”

Then the LORD God said to the serpent:“Because you have done this, you shall be bannedfrom all the animalsand from all the wild creatures;On your belly shall you crawl,and dirt shall you eatall the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman,and between your offspring and hers;He will strike at your head,while you strike at his heel.”The man called his wife Eve,because she became the mother of all the living.

After Jesus had been taken up to heaven,the Apostles returned to Jerusalemfrom the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem,a sabbath day’s journey away.

When they entered the citythey went to the upper room where they were staying,Peter and John and James and Andrew,Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot,and Judas son of James.All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,together with some women,and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

R. (3) Glorious things are told of you, O city of God.His foundation upon the holy mountainsthe LORD loves:The gates of Zion,more than any dwelling of Jacob.R. Glorious things are told of you, O city of God.Glorious things are said of you,O city of God!And of Zion they shall say:“One and all were born in her;And he who has established heris the Most High LORD.”R. Glorious things are told of you, O city of God.They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:“This man was born there.”And all shall sing, in their festive dance:“My home is within you.”R. Glorious things are told of you, O city of God.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.O happy Virgin, you gave birth to the Lord;O blessed mother of the Church,you warm our hearts with the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his motherand his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,and Mary of Magdala.When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved,he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”Then he said to the disciple,“Behold, your mother.”And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.After this, aware that everything was now finished,in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,Jesus said, “I thirst.”There was a vessel filled with common wine.So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssopand put it up to his mouth.When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,“It is finished.”And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Now since it was preparation day,in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be brokenand they be taken down.So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the firstand then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,they did not break his legs,but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,and immediately Blood and water flowed out.

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,they were all in one place together.And suddenly there came from the skya noise like a strong driving wind,and it filled the entire house in which they were.Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,which parted and came to rest on each one of them.And they were all filled with the Holy Spiritand began to speak in different tongues,as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,but they were confusedbecause each one heard them speaking in his own language.They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,as well as travelers from Rome,both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,yet we hear them speaking in our own tonguesof the mighty acts of God.”

R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.Bless the LORD, O my soul!O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!How manifold are your works, O LORD!the earth is full of your creatures;R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.May the glory of the LORD endure forever;may the LORD be glad in his works!Pleasing to him be my theme;I will be glad in the LORD.R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.If you take away their breath, they perishand return to their dust.When you send forth your spirit, they are created,and you renew the face of the earth.R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.

Brothers and sisters:No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord;there are different workings but the same Godwho produces all of them in everyone.To each individual the manifestation of the Spiritis given for some benefit.

As a body is one though it has many parts,and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,so also Christ.For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Brothers and sisters, live by the Spiritand you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,and the Spirit against the flesh;these are opposed to each other,so that you may not do what you want.But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.Now the works of the flesh are obvious:immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry,sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.I warn you, as I warned you before,that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, generosity,faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.Against such there is no law.Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their fleshwith its passions and desires.If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

Sequence

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, come!And from your celestial homeShed a ray of light divine!Come, Father of the poor!Come, source of all our store!Come, within our bosoms shine.You, of comforters the best;You, the soul’s most welcome guest;Sweet refreshment here below;In our labor, rest most sweet;Grateful coolness in the heat;Solace in the midst of woe.O most blessed Light divine,Shine within these hearts of yours,And our inmost being fill!Where you are not, we have naught,Nothing good in deed or thought,Nothing free from taint of ill.Heal our wounds, our strength renew;On our dryness pour your dew;Wash the stains of guilt away:Bend the stubborn heart and will;Melt the frozen, warm the chill;Guide the steps that go astray.On the faithful, who adoreAnd confess you, evermoreIn your sevenfold gift descend;Give them virtue’s sure reward;Give them your salvation, Lord;Give them joys that never end. Amen.Alleluia.

Alleluia

On the evening of that first day of the week,when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,for fear of the Jews,Jesus came and stood in their midstand said to them, “Peace be with you.”When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,“Receive the Holy Spirit.Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Jesus said to his disciples:“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father,he will testify to me.And you also testify,because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,he will guide you to all truth.He will not speak on his own,but he will speak what he hears,and will declare to you the things that are coming.He will glorify me,because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.Everything that the Father has is mine;for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mineand declare it to you.”

The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words.While the people were migrating in the east,they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.They said to one another,“Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.”They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar.Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a cityand a tower with its top in the sky,and so make a name for ourselves;otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.”

The LORD came down to see the city and the towerthat the people had built.Then the LORD said: “If now, while they are one people,all speaking the same language,they have started to do this,nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.Let us then go down there and confuse their language,so that one will not understand what another says.”Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth,and they stopped building the city.That is why it was called Babel,because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world.It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.

Moses went up the mountain to God.Then the LORD called to him and said,“Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob;tell the Israelites:You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptiansand how I bore you up on eagle wingsand brought you here to myself.Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant,you shall be my special possession,dearer to me than all other people,though all the earth is mine.You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.That is what you must tell the Israelites.”So Moses went and summoned the elders of the people.When he set before themall that the LORD had ordered him to tell them,the people all answered together,“Everything the LORD has said, we will do.”

On the morning of the third daythere were peals of thunder and lightning,and a heavy cloud over the mountain,and a very loud trumpet blast,so that all the people in the camp trembled.But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God,and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain.Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke,for the LORD came down upon it in fire.The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace,and the whole mountain trembled violently.The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking,and God answering him with thunder.

When the LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai,he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain.

The hand of the LORD came upon me,and he led me out in the spirit of the LORDand set me in the center of the plain,which was now filled with bones.He made me walk among the bones in every directionso that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain.How dry they were!He asked me:Son of man, can these bones come to life?I answered, “Lord GOD, you alone know that.”Then he said to me:Prophesy over these bones, and say to them:Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you,cover you with skin, and put spirit in youso that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD.I, Ezekiel, prophesied as I had been told,and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise;it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone.I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them,and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them.Then the LORD said to me:Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man,and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD:From the four winds come, O spirit,and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them;they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.Then he said to me:Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.They have been saying,“Our bones are dried up,our hope is lost, and we are cut off.”Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD:O my people, I will open your gravesand have you rise from them,and bring you back to the land of Israel.Then you shall know that I am the LORD,when I open your graves and have you rise from them,O my people!I will put my spirit in you that you may live,and I will settle you upon your land;thus you shall know that I am the LORD.I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.

Thus says the LORD:I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.Your sons and daughters shall prophesy,your old men shall dream dreams,your young men shall see visions;even upon the servants and the handmaids,in those days, I will pour out my spirit.And I will work wonders in the heavens and on the earth,blood, fire, and columns of smoke;the sun will be turned to darkness,and the moon to blood,at the coming of the day of the LORD,the great and terrible day.Then everyone shall be rescuedwho calls on the name of the LORD;for on Mount Zion there shall be a remnant,as the LORD has said,and in Jerusalem survivorswhom the LORD shall call.

R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.Bless the LORD, O my soul!O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!You are clothed with majesty and glory,robed in light as with a cloak.R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.How manifold are your works, O LORD!In wisdom you have wrought them allCthe earth is full of your creatures;bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia.R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.Creatures all look to youto give them food in due time.When you give it to them, they gather it;when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.If you take away their breath, they perishand return to their dust.When you send forth your spirit, they are created,and you renew the face of the earth.R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.

Brothers and sisters:We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;and not only that, but we ourselves,who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,we also groan within ourselvesas we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.For in hope we were saved.Now hope that sees is not hope.For who hopes for what one sees?But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.

In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness;for we do not know how to pray as we ought,but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.And the one who searches heartsknows what is the intention of the Spirit,because he intercedes for the holy onesaccording to God’s will.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithfuland kindle in them the fire of your love.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

On the last and greatest day of the feast,Jesus stood up and exclaimed,“Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.As Scripture says:Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me.”

He said this in reference to the Spiritthat those who came to believe in him were to receive.There was, of course, no Spirit yet,because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words.While the people were migrating in the east,they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.They said to one another,“Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.”They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar.Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a cityand a tower with its top in the sky,and so make a name for ourselves;otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.”

The LORD came down to see the city and the towerthat the people had built.Then the LORD said: “If now, while they are one people,all speaking the same language,they have started to do this,nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.Let us then go down there and confuse their language,so that one will not understand what another says.”Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth,and they stopped building the city.That is why it was called Babel,because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world.It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.

R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations;he foils the designs of peoples.But the plan of the LORD stands forever;the design of his heart, through all generations. R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.From heaven the LORD looks down;he sees all mankind. R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.From his fixed throne he beholdsall who dwell on the earth,He who fashioned the heart of each,he who knows all their works. R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Moses went up the mountain to God.Then the LORD called to him and said,“Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob;tell the Israelites:You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptiansand how I bore you up on eagle wingsand brought you here to myself.Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant,you shall be my special possession,dearer to me than all other people,though all the earth is mine.You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.That is what you must tell the Israelites.”So Moses went and summoned the elders of the people.When he set before themall that the LORD had ordered him to tell them,the people all answered together,“Everything the LORD has said, we will do.”

On the morning of the third daythere were peals of thunder and lightning,and a heavy cloud over the mountain,and a very loud trumpet blast,so that all the people in the camp trembled.But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God,and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain.Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke,for the LORD came down upon it in fire.The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace,and the whole mountain trembled violently.The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking,and God answering him with thunder.

When the LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai,he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain.

R. (52b) Glory and praise forever!“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;and blessed is your holy and glorious name,praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.” R. Glory and praise forever!“Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.” R. Glory and praise forever!“Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.” R. Glory and praise forever!“Blessed are you who look into the depthsfrom your throne upon the cherubim,praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.” R. Glory and praise forever!“Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.” R. Glory and praise forever!

R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.The law of the LORD is perfect,refreshing the soul;The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,giving wisdom to the simple. R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.The precepts of the LORD are right,rejoicing the heart;The command of the LORD is clear,enlightening the eye. R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.The fear of the LORD is pure,enduring forever;The ordinances of the LORD are true,all of them just. R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.They are more precious than gold,than a heap of purest gold;Sweeter also than syrupor honey from the comb. R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The hand of the LORD came upon me,and he led me out in the spirit of the LORDand set me in the center of the plain,which was now filled with bones.He made me walk among the bones in every directionso that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain.How dry they were!He asked me:Son of man, can these bones come to life?I answered, “Lord GOD, you alone know that.”Then he said to me:Prophesy over these bones, and say to them:Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you,cover you with skin, and put spirit in youso that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD.I, Ezekiel, prophesied as I had been told,and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise;it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone.I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them,and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them.Then the LORD said to me:Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man,and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD:From the four winds come, O spirit,and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them;they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.Then he said to me:Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.They have been saying,“Our bones are dried up,our hope is lost, and we are cut off.”Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD:O my people, I will open your gravesand have you rise from them,and bring you back to the land of Israel.Then you shall know that I am the LORD,when I open your graves and have you rise from them,O my people!I will put my spirit in you that you may live,and I will settle you upon your land;thus you shall know that I am the LORD.I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.

R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.or:R. Alleluia.Let the redeemed of the LORD say,those whom he has redeemed from the hand of the foeAnd gathered from the lands,from the east and the west, from the north and the south. R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.or:R. Alleluia.They went astray in the desert wilderness;the way to an inhabited city they did not find.Hungry and thirsty,their life was wasting away within them. R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.or:R. Alleluia.They cried to the LORD in their distress;from their straits he rescued them.And he led them by a direct wayto reach an inhabited city. R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.or:R. Alleluia.Let them give thanks to the LORD for his mercyand his wondrous deeds to the children of men,Because he satisfied the longing souland filled the hungry soul with good things. R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.or:R. Alleluia.

Thus says the LORD:I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.Your sons and daughters shall prophesy,your old men shall dream dreams,your young men shall see visions;even upon the servants and the handmaids,in those days, I will pour out my spirit.And I will work wonders in the heavens and on the earth,blood, fire, and columns of smoke;the sun will be turned to darkness,and the moon to blood,at the coming of the day of the LORD,the great and terrible day.Then everyone shall be rescuedwho calls on the name of the LORD;for on Mount Zion there shall be a remnant,as the LORD has said,and in Jerusalem survivorswhom the LORD shall call.

R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.Bless the LORD, O my soul!O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!You are clothed with majesty and glory,robed in light as with a cloak. R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.How manifold are your works, O LORD!In wisdom you have wrought them all—the earth is full of your creatures;bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia. R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.Creatures all look to youto give them food in due time.When you give it to them, they gather it;when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.If you take away their breath, they perishand return to their dust.When you send forth your spirit, they are created,and you renew the face of the earth. R.R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.or:R. Alleluia.

Brothers and sisters:We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;and not only that, but we ourselves,who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,we also groan within ourselvesas we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.For in hope we were saved.Now hope that sees is not hope.For who hopes for what one sees?But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.

In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness;for we do not know how to pray as we ought,but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.And the one who searches heartsknows what is the intention of the Spirit,because he intercedes for the holy onesaccording to God’s will.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithfuland kindle in them the fire of your love.

On the last and greatest day of the feast,Jesus stood up and exclaimed,“Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.As Scripture says:Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me.”

He said this in reference to the Spiritthat those who came to believe in him were to receive.There was, of course, no Spirit yet,because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

When he entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself,with the soldier who was guarding him.

Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews.When they had gathered he said to them, “My brothers,although I had done nothing against our peopleor our ancestral customs,I was handed over to the Romans as a prisoner from Jerusalem.After trying my case the Romans wanted to release me,because they found nothing against me deserving the death penalty.But when the Jews objected, I was obliged to appeal to Caesar,even though I had no accusation to make against my own nation.This is the reason, then, I have requested to see youand to speak with you, for it is on account of the hope of Israelthat I wear these chains.”

He remained for two full years in his lodgings.He received all who came to him, and with complete assuranceand without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of Godand taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

R. (see 7b) The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.or:R. Alleluia.The LORD is in his holy temple;the LORD’s throne is in heaven.His eyes behold,his searching glance is on mankind.R. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.or:R. Alleluia.The LORD searches the just and the wicked;the lover of violence he hates.For the LORD is just, he loves just deeds;the upright shall see his face.R. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.or:R. Alleluia.

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved,the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supperand had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?”When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come?What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die.But Jesus had not told him that he would not die,just “What if I want him to remain until I come?What concern is it of yours?”

It is this disciple who testifies to these thingsand has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.There are also many other things that Jesus did,but if these were to be described individually,I do not think the whole world would contain the booksthat would be written.

King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesareaon a visit to Festus.Since they spent several days there,Festus referred Paul’s case to the king, saying,“There is a man here left in custody by Felix.When I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and the elders of the Jewsbrought charges against him and demanded his condemnation.I answered them that it was not Roman practiceto hand over an accused person before he has faced his accusersand had the opportunity to defend himself against their charge.So when they came together here, I made no delay;the next day I took my seat on the tribunaland ordered the man to be brought in.His accusers stood around him,but did not charge him with any of the crimes I suspected.Instead they had some issues with him about their own religionand about a certain Jesus who had diedbut who Paul claimed was alive.Since I was at a loss how to investigate this controversy,I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalemand there stand trial on these charges.And when Paul appealed that he be held in custodyfor the Emperor’s decision,I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”

R. (19a) The Lord has established his throne in heaven.or:R. Alleluia.Bless the LORD, O my soul;and all my being, bless his holy name.Bless the LORD, O my soul,and forget not all his benefits.R. The Lord has established his throne in heaven.or:R. Alleluia.For as the heavens are high above the earth,so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.As far as the east is from the west,so far has he put our transgressions from us.R. The Lord has established his throne in heaven.or:R. Alleluia.The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.Bless the LORD, all you his angels,you mighty in strength, who do his bidding.R. The Lord has established his throne in heaven.or:R. Alleluia.

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter,“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”He then said to Simon Peter a second time,“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”He said to him the third time,“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,“Do you love me?” and he said to him,“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,and someone else will dress youand lead you where you do not want to go.”He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

Wishing to determine the truthabout why Paul was being accused by the Jews,the commander freed himand ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,so he called out before the Sanhedrin,“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”When he said this,a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,and the group became divided.For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrectionor angels or spirits,while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.A great uproar occurred,and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee partystood up and sharply argued,“We find nothing wrong with this man.Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”The dispute was so serious that the commander,afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them,ordered his troops to go down and rescue Paul from their midstand take him into the compound.The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage.For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem,so you must also bear witness in Rome.”

R. (1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.or:R. Alleluia.Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,you it is who hold fast my lot. R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.or:R. Alleluia.I bless the LORD who counsels me;even in the night my heart exhorts me.I set the LORD ever before me;with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.or:R. Alleluia.Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,my body, too, abides in confidence;Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.or:R. Alleluia.You will show me the path to life,fullness of joys in your presence,the delights at your right hand forever.R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.or:R. Alleluia.

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:“I pray not only for these,but also for those who will believe in me through their word,so that they may all be one,as you, Father, are in me and I in you,that they also may be in us,that the world may believe that you sent me.And I have given them the glory you gave me,so that they may be one, as we are one,I in them and you in me,that they may be brought to perfection as one,that the world may know that you sent me,and that you loved them even as you loved me.Father, they are your gift to me.I wish that where I am they also may be with me,that they may see my glory that you gave me,because you loved me before the foundation of the world.Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,but I know you, and they know that you sent me.I made known to them your name and I will make it known,that the love with which you loved memay be in them and I in them.”